Common health problems in pregnancy

Thyroid hormones help in the development of your baby’s brain and nervous system, and they also control your heart rate and metabolism. When you have hypothyroidism, that is, when you don’t have enough of these hormones, you may feel cold, tired, depressed and constipated.

Is It Normal To Have Chills In Early Pregnancy?

Disclaimer: Please note that this blog is for educational purposes only, it includes general information on health-related topics. Women’s Healthcare of Boca Raton is giving medical advice to Patients Only. Follow this link to request an appointment with Dr. Ellman.

Many women experience a higher body temperature when they’re pregnant. Others feel cold, which, most of the time, is a normal occurrence. However, sometimes, it can indicate that the patient has an underlying health condition, such as thyroid problems and iron-deficiency anemia.

So, is being cold always a sign of pregnancy? What can you do when you’re suddenly feeling cold in early pregnancy?

In this article, we’ll explore the causes of chills in early pregnancy and other factors that may indicate that you’re pregnant. We’ll also look at strategies you can implement into your life to help you warm up and discuss when to see an OBGYN services clinic.

Are Chills a Sign of Early Pregnancy?

Are chills a sign of early pregnancy? Is it normal if I feel cold during pregnancy?

Yes, it’s completely normal to have chills when you’re pregnant, even though most people do not experience them. That said, we can mention other common signs that may indicate that a person is pregnant, such as:

Spotting and cramping: During early pregnancy, the egg attaches itself to the lining of your uterus, which is the womb. When this happens, you will experience pains in your lower abdomen and light bleeding.
Increase in breast size: One of the first signs of pregnancy is an increased breast size. Your breasts become swollen, tender, and painful to the touch, and the areolas may darken in color.
Nausea with or without vomiting: You may experience morning sickness one or two months after you get pregnant, and this can happen at any time of the day. However, some women also feel nausea earlier, but not everyone experiences this.

Missed periods: If your period is one week or more late and you’re during your childbearing years, you might be pregnant. However, there are other factors that can cause a missed period, such as stress, anxiety, diet and infection.

Frequent urination: If you’re pregnant, you may notice that you need to urinate more frequently. This is because your body produces more blood during pregnancy, which causes the kidneys to process more fluid into the bladder.

Nasal congestion: When you’re pregnant, the hormone levels and blood production in your body increase, causing your nose’s mucous membranes to swell and dry out. As a result, you may develop a stuffy or runny nose.

What Causes You to Feel Cold When You are Pregnant?

There are a lot of reasons why you are experiencing pregnancy chills. When you experience a cold with no fever during pregnancy, below are the likely causes:

Low Blood Pressure

While high blood pressure is very common during pregnancy, some women also experience symptoms of low blood pressure, when their readings are 90/60 or lower.

This can happen as the body is trying to work up enough blood for the mother and the baby. Many pregnant women with low blood pressure don’t develop any symptoms, but when the body is pumping more blood to the tissues and organs, they may have clammy skin.

Other signs that they can develop:

Nausea.
Dizziness.
Fainting.
Blurred vision.
A weak but fast pulse.

Fatigue

Are you experiencing chills in early pregnancy? If you notice a change in basal body temperature during pregnancy, a common cause for this is fatigue. This is because your body needs enough sleep to regulate temperature effectively.

Interestingly, your body is unable to get enough sleep if you’re always experiencing fatigue. When you’re tired, you may notice that you have become uncomfortable and need to urinate frequently.

Hormones

An increase in your body’s hormone levels can affect your basal body temperature during pregnancy. You can be hot this minute and cold the next.

In addition, this may also cause morning sickness, which makes you throw up immediately after eating. Also, when you don’t eat, your body will lack the energy needed to keep you feeling warm.

Hypothyroidism

Thyroid hormones help in the development of your baby’s brain and nervous system, and they also control your heart rate and metabolism. When you have hypothyroidism, that is, when you don’t have enough of these hormones, you may feel cold, tired, depressed and constipated.

Anemia

Anemia is a condition that occurs when there aren’t enough oxygen-carrying red blood cells in the body.

Pregnant women have a significant risk of developing iron-deficiency anemia: The body uses iron to make red blood cells. During pregnancy, the body needs more iron to supply oxygen-rich blood to the mother and baby.

Common symptoms of anemia include:

Cold hands and feet
Weakness
Pale skin.
Irregular heartbeat
Shortness of breath.

That said, in this case, we recommend signing up for ob-gyn services to prevent a high-risk pregnancy .

What Can You Do to Warm up?

If you’re experiencing chills in early pregnancy, we recommend following these tips to help you warm-up:

Wearing extra layers: Wearing additional layers of clothing and covering up with a thick blanket is a sure way to feel warm again. However, make sure you feel comfortable and cozy under the thick clothes and blankets.

Having enough rest: If you are experiencing fatigue and other sleep issues, you need to have enough rest to keep warm. You can also take warm baths to relax your body and nerves.

Taking iron supplements: Prenatal vitamins contain iron and can help provide protection against anemia. Sometimes, doctors may also prescribe iron supplements, and some women also get treated with intravenous iron if the situation is serious. It also helps to add more iron-rich foods to your diet, such as beans, poultry, and red meat.

Treating hypothyroidism: Thyroid hormone replacement drugs can help treat hypothyroidism. These are safe for you and your baby, but you should avoid taking them at the same time you’re taking your prenatal vitamins. This is because the minerals in the vitamins may make it hard for the body to absorb the hormone.

Is it Normal to Feel Suddenly Cold in Early Pregnancy?

Is feeling suddenly cold an early sign of pregnancy?

This depends on your body. In our clinic, we meet a lot of patients who feel hot during pregnancy. Their hormones change, and the blood supply to their skin increases.

There are others who feel cold instead, and this is completely normal.

Some women also have chills if they’re having a miscarriage, but there doesn’t appear to be a connection between miscarriages and feeling cold.

Signs of a miscarriage can include severe back pain, heavy spotting, and abdominal cramping.

If you’re concerned about your symptoms or chills, please see an obstetric specialist .

When Should you See a Doctor?

Even though having chills in pregnancy is normal, you should visit a women’s health clinic immediately when you experience it. This is because the pregnancy chills may be a symptom of a condition that might affect you and your baby.

The doctor can help you manage your chills, and if there’s a need for you to take medications, they will prescribe them.

Book Your Appointment Today

Having chills when you’re pregnant can occur when you have low blood pressure, hypothyroidism, or iron-deficiency anemia.

We can easily help you manage these symptoms, and in most cases, we recommend our patients to follow a healthy diet, get enough sleep and take prenatal vitamins, among others.

However, if you still have questions about chills in early pregnancy, call our clinic at (561) 273-7364 or (561) 465-8834 to book an appointment with us. We look forward to meeting you and helping you throughout your pregnancy.

Common health problems in pregnancy

Your body has a great deal to do during pregnancy. Sometimes the changes taking place can cause irritation or discomfort, and sometimes you may be concerned.

There’s rarely any need for alarm, but you should mention anything that’s worrying you to your maternity team.

Constipation in pregnancy

The hormonal changes in your body may cause you to become constipated very early on in your pregnancy.

To help prevent constipation, you can:

eat foods that are high in fibre, such as wholemeal breads and cereals, fruit and vegetables, and pulses such as beans and lentils – read more about having a healthy diet in pregnancy
exercise regularly to keep your muscles toned – read more about exercise in pregnancy
drink plenty of water
avoid iron supplements, which can make you constipated – ask your doctor if you can either manage without them or change to a different type

You can read more about constipation, including symptoms and treatment.

Cramp in pregnancy

Cramp is a sudden, sharp pain, usually in your calf muscles or feet. It’s most common at night.

Regular gentle exercise in pregnancy, particularly ankle and leg movements, will improve your circulation and may help prevent cramp. Try these foot exercises:

bend and stretch your foot vigorously up and down 30 times
rotate your foot 8 times one way and 8 times the other way
repeat with the other foot

It may help to ease cramp if you pull your toes hard up towards your ankle or rub the muscle hard.

Feeling faint in pregnancy

You may feel faint while pregnant. This is usually due to hormonal changes. Fainting happens if your brain is not getting enough blood and, therefore, not enough oxygen.

You are most likely to feel faint if you stand up too quickly from a chair or out of a bath, but it can also happen when you are lying on your back.

Here are some tips to help avoid feeling faint:

try to get up slowly after sitting or lying down
if you feel faint when standing still, find a seat quickly and the faintness should pass – if it does not, lie down on your side
if you feel faint while lying on your back, turn onto your side

It’s better not to lie flat on your back in later pregnancy or during labour. You should avoid going to sleep on your back after 28 weeks as it has been linked to a higher risk of stillbirth.

Feeling hot in pregnancy

You’re likely to feel warmer than usual during pregnancy. This is due to hormonal changes and an increase in blood supply to the skin. You’re also likely to sweat more.

It can help if you:

wear loose clothing made of natural fibres, as these are more absorbent and breathable than synthetic fibres
keep your room cool – you could use an electric fan
wash frequently to help you feel fresh

Incontinence in pregnancy

Incontinence is a common problem during and after pregnancy. You might be unable to prevent a sudden spurt of pee when you cough, laugh, sneeze, move suddenly or just get up from a sitting position.

This may be temporary, because the pelvic floor muscles (the muscles around the bladder) relax slightly to prepare for the baby’s delivery. There are exercises you can do to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles.

If you have a problem, talk to your midwife, doctor or health visitor.

Peeing a lot in pregnancy

Needing to pee a lot often starts in early pregnancy and sometimes continues until the baby is born. In later pregnancy, it’s caused by the baby’s head pressing on your bladder.

If you find you need to get up in the night to pee, try cutting out drinks in the late evening. However, make sure you drink plenty of non-alcoholic, caffeine-free drinks during the day to stay hydrated.

Later in pregnancy, you may find it helps to rock backwards and forwards while you’re on the toilet. This lessens the pressure of the womb on the bladder so you can empty it properly.

If you have any pain while peeing or you pass any blood in your pee, you may have a urine infection, which will need treatment.

Drink plenty of water to dilute your pee and reduce pain. You should contact your GP within 24 hours of noticing these symptoms. Read more about urinary tract infections (UTIs).

Don’t take any medicines without asking your midwife, doctor or pharmacist whether they’re safe in pregnancy.

Skin changes in pregnancy

Hormonal changes taking place in pregnancy may make your nipples and the area around them go darker. Your skin colour may also darken a little, either in patches or all over.

Birthmarks, moles and freckles may also darken. You may develop a dark line down the middle of your stomach. These changes will gradually fade after the baby is born, although your nipples may remain a little darker.

If you sunbathe while pregnant, you may find you burn more easily. Protect your skin with a high-factor sunscreen and don’t stay in the sun for a long time. Read more about sunscreen and sun safety.

Varicose veins in pregnancy

Varicose veins are veins that have become swollen. They can be uncomfortable but aren’t harmful.

Varicose veins most commonly affect the legs, but you can also get them in the vaginal opening (vulva). They usually get better after the birth.

If you have varicose veins, you should:

avoid standing for long periods of time
try not to sit with your legs crossed
try not to put on too much weight, as this increases the pressure – read more about weight gain in pregnancy
sit with your legs up as often as you can to ease the discomfort
try compression stockings, which you can buy at most pharmacies – they won’t prevent varicose veins but can ease the symptoms
try sleeping with your legs higher than the rest of your body – use pillows under your ankles or put books under the foot of your bed
do foot and other antenatal exercises, such as walking and swimming, which will help your circulation

Try these foot exercises:

bend and stretch your foot up and down 30 times
rotate your foot 8 times one way and 8 times the other
repeat with the other foot

More in Common symptoms in pregnancy

Page last reviewed: 22 April 2024
Next review due: 22 April 2027

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Feeling Cold Early Pregnancy

Common health problems in pregnancy

Is It Normal To Have Chills In Early Pregnancy?

Are Chills a Sign of Early Pregnancy?